HORIZON LEAGUE BASKETBALL Loyola rolls over YSU; road losing streak now at 20 straight

The Penguins did not win a road game in 2002.
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
CHICAGO -- Maybe 2003 will be better for the Youngstown State men's basketball team.
The Penguins closed out the 2002 portion of their schedule Tuesday with a 76-59 loss to Loyola of Chicago in their Horizon League opener at the Gentile Center before 2,300 fans.
For the Penguins (4-6, 0-1 Horizon League), it was their fifth-straight loss on the road this season and extended their road losing streak to 20 straight.
YSU's last road victory came on Feb. 17, 2001 at University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Penguins went 0-7 on the road at the start of the next season and have been 0-13 in the year 2002.
Penguins never led
Against the Ramblers (5-8, 1-1 Horizon), the Penguins were never in the game after the first seven minutes. They never led and trailed by as many as 24 points as they lost their fourth-straight game this year.
One of the reason the Penguins struggled was the play of Loyola's senior guard David Bailey, the Horizon League's preseason player of the year. Bailey finished with 25 points, nine assists and three steals to lead all scorers.
"Give Loyola credit, they went to their strength and played well," YSU coach John Robic said. "Bailey took control of the game for them."
The Penguins trailed by 21 points at halftime, 43-22.
"When you're down by that many points at halftime, you are playing for pride in the second half," Robic said. "I take the responsibility for that; now I just have to get my point across to the team. They were a step quicker than us the first half."
"We need to be more consistent," Robic said. "Once we do that, we are going to win some games."
The Penguins had two players in double figures as junior Adam Baumann and sophomore Doug Underwood scored 13 points each.
Baumann and junior TeJay Anderson led the YSU rebounding with seven each.
The Penguins shot 40.7 percent from the field while the Ramblers hit on 48.2 percent.
Ramblers scored first
Loyola scored its first basket right off the opening tip, but the Penguins stayed within reach over the first seven minutes.
Trailing 14-13 with 12:10 remaining, the Penguins then watched the Ramblers roll on a 13-2 run and pull to a 27-15 advantage.
Senior guard Kevin Clancy came on and made his first three 3-point shots as the Ramblers outscored the Penguins 29-9 over the final 10 minutes of the half and took the big lead into the dressing room at halftime.
In the first two minutes of the second half, the Ramblers increased their lead to 24 points, 47-23.
The Penguins then made a brief 11-2 run to cut the lead to 15 points 49-34 as Baumann scored six points.
YSU made another short run to cut the lead to 12 points, 59-47, as freshman Andy Jahnke came off the bench to score a pair of 3-pointers and eight points.
Within 10 points
With time running out, YSU got the Ramblers' lead down to 10 at the 2:39 mark on a 3-point shot by Marlon Williamson and a drive by Underwood 69-59.
But the Penguins didn't score again in the game as the Ramblers hit four straight free throws and Bailey added two more baskets for the final numbers.
The Penguins begin the 2003 portion of their schedule Monday when they travel to Oakland (Mich.) University for 7 p.m. tip-off in a non-league contest.
YSU's next Horizon League game will be Jan. 9 at home against Cleveland State.